Despite a small population of around 5,000 people, Framlingham certainly punches above its weight when it comes to notable singers.
Everybody knows about global mega star Ed Sheeran’s roots in the market town, but more top stars than you may think were born or brought-up there.
In the week in which Polly Gibbons picked up a Jazz FM Award nomination, we pick out five other famous faces to form our own Framlingham supergroup.
Laura Wright - Soprano extraordinaire Laura Wright can often be seen gracing Six Nations pitches to belt out the national anthem, but the Framsden born singer is much more versatile than most people may think.
The 26-year-old has turned her hand to a host of styles including classical, opera, pop, folk and musical theatre – a talent that stemmed from her childhood years in Framlingham and her time at Framlingham College.
And Laura hasn’t left her roots behind – having performed at the Raising the Bar awards and the Great East Swim in recent years,
Christina Johnston - Born and bred in Framlingham, Christina is another young star to have made a name for herself in the music industry before the age of 30.
A particular favourite in her adopted home of the Czech Republic, where she was described as an “angel” by the Czech president in 2014 and has performed at the Prague State Opera, Christina also featured in Disney’s Aldabra and performed for Chinese president Xi Jinping.
Polly Gibbons - A ‘vocalist of the year’ nomination in the Jazz FM Awards this year is nothing short of a ringing endorsement of Polly’s talents. But if that wasn’t enough, regular appearances at the legendary Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club as well as gigs alongside the Liverpool Philharmonic and a burgeoning career in the US have marked her out as one of British jazz’s leading ladies.
Once again, Polly’s musical upbringing in Framlingham from her choral loving mum and bass player dad started her on the road to stardom inspiring her to take up piano lessons from the age of four.
Polly’s come a long way from her self-confessed “crippling shyness” she experienced as an emerging singer aged 13, recalling on her website that “at her first public performance at a school Christmas concert, she sang with her back to the audience”.
Olivia Castle - A career in jazz music was perhaps always on the cards for Olivia Castle thanks in no small part to a strong family heritage with the genre dating back to the 1920s and her Romanian great-grandfather. But the drama and theatre graduate also spent her formative years in Framlingham performing in choirs – including coming second in BBC Radio 2’s Chorister of the Year competition in 2008.
Her long-term goal is to be the female Michael Buble by spinning a contemporary twist to traditional jazz.
“I’ve always loved jazz and there’s a growing demand for the sophisticated glamour of the genre, which is now starting to appeal again to modern, contemporary audiences,” she told us in 2015. “There’s a gap in the industry for female singers and that’s where I’m hoping to fit in.”
Alice Russell - Soul singer Alice Russell, 42, the daughter of an organist, grew up in Framlingham playing the cello and singing in choirs before heading to Brighton to study art and music.
Combining influences from classical, soul, gospel, and Latin, Alice has seven eclectic albums to her name.
She’s followed powerhouse performances on stage by Amy Winehouse and left the Montreal Jazz Festival spellbound, and over the course of her 15 year career has gathered celebrity fans including the likes of Massive Attack, David Byrne and Groove Armada.
Ed Sheeran - What can we say about our Ed? A perennial hard-worker, talented singer, lyricist and songwriter and an all-round nice guy to boot, Ed’s become the pride of Suffolk.
Combining his stratospheric stadium-pop with his down-to-earth demeanour, Ed has never shied away from his Suffolk surroundings.
Multi-platinum albums and sold out arena tours can’t stop Ed from popping up at the Steamboat for an impromptu gig or supporting St Elizabeth Hospice with clothes auctions and pig-bidding for Pigs Gone Wild.
We all have our fingers crossed for that chance of a Portman Road concert.
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